Habitat walk in Newburgh helps families gain a home

NEWBURGH — Just a few years ago, East Parmenter Street was one of those blocks you didn't want to be caught going down at night.

James Nani

NEWBURGH — Just a few years ago, East Parmenter Street was one of those blocks you didn't want to be caught going down at night.

Grass grew through the cracks in the sidewalks and many windows were just gray plywood. Condemned buildings were burned-out shells without roofs, and locals remember a garbage-dumping ground with prostitution and drugs.

But on a bright, warm day, more than 500 people took part Sunday in the annual Walk For Housing, past homes on East Parmenter and other streets transformed by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh.

They walked with a purpose: to raise funds for the nonprofit Habitat and dedicate five new homes on the once-blighted street. More than $45,000 was raised, said Collins, not including checks or credit card donations.

Stephanie Faucher, a mother of three and homeowner on East Parmenter, moved to the block in 2010. She said that before the restoration, she was scared to move there. Now, she said, she not only feels safe, but has noticed young people there go from vandalizing the block to criticizing those who try to mess with the community.

"We look out for one another. I can't wait for everyone to move in," said Faucher. "You take care of it because you never had any land before."

The five new homes dedicated Sunday bring the number of homes restored by Habitat on East Parmenter — the historic neighborhood near Washington's Headquarters — to 14, said Collins.

Many of the block's residents have moved in since Parmenter Mews Inc., a development partnership, began acquiring and renovating buildings in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Habitat has built on that upswing.

Rasheem Weir watched as people marched down the block past him on South Johnston Street, about a block away from the new homes. Polishing an old deli slicer in front of a mechanics shop where he sometimes works, Weir said the stretch of East Parmenter has improved. "It used to be dark. People used to be robbed over there," said Weir.